Sad that you didn’t win? I am sad that I didn’t win, too. (I figured you guys wouldn’t appreciate it if I entered my own contest, but I sure wanted to!:). But we can go buy Dean’s new book on Amazon, here.

Also, since I will most likely only get to interview Dean Karnazes once in my life, I thought I’d go ahead and post the interview snippets that I did not use in the main story. Plus, some of them were your questions, so I thought you might want to hear the answers!:)
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Some Interview Snippets from my 20 May 2011 Interview with Dean Karnazes

Erin: For endeavors like the one you were just on, how do you blanace your family life with your running?Dean: I’ll admit, it’s frenetic and chaotic and disjointed and a lot of fun. I think we have an underlying deep respect and love for each other, and I take them wherever I can. They were with me at the White House, and they travel with me whenever they can and they know that they’re my first priority. So, I make sacrifices when I can, like I train in the middle of the night just so I can take them to school in the morning and fix them breakfast when I’m home. And like with the run across the USA, when they were in school we would have a virtual dinner almost ever night on Skype. So I try to use technology to stay plugged in, and we seem to be making it work, but there is no balance, I’ll tell ya that.

Erin: I know you get interviewed and do speaking events all the time, what’s the most off-the-wall question you have been asked, and what’s the answer?
Dean: I can’t tell you how many reporters across the country have asked me when I show up for a marathon, “So how long is your marathon today?” Haha, and I say, “You know, I try to pick the short ones, but they all seem to be 26.2 miles!”

Erin: If you had to pick just one ultimate accomplishment that stands out in your mind, what would that be?
Dean: I think that the toughest ultra marathon I’ve ever faced is raising two kids. By far. I think a lot of your readers who are mothers will appreciate that and understand it. They will challenge you in ways that doing an Ironman never will.

Erin: One of the things I liked about your new book was, when you were talking about how there are kind of two different types of people–the kind that don’t understand running and the kind that feel more alive when they are in pain or are pushing themselves. Do you ever try and explain to the non-runners what there is to it?
Dean: I just try to lead by example. No one can preach running. I realize that running and tris might not be for everyone, but I just try to set the best example. I love it, and people who see me can tell that I love it, and it’s kind of infectious in that regard. But the run across America was more than just a run, it was such a visible media thing that I think we reached a lot of people that would never run or walk.

And I had a couple of reporters that in the teaser or in the bumper slot that led up to the interview were talking about Forrest Gump, but then they came out and actually saw what was going on and they realized that no, this is so much different, and this is serious physical work and discipline. And one guy even said to me, I’m never going to make a reference to Forrest Gump again. Forrest Gump is a guy on a treadmill with a green screen behind him and a camera in front of him–you’re real, and I had no idea what it really took to do this. I mean you don’t just leisurely run across the country.

Erin: What do your fans mean to you?
Dean: I never will get used to the fact that I have “fans.” I just don’t view myself as worthy, I mean, I’m just a runner, just like everyone else I meet out there, so I just see myself as equals. But you know, I’ll never grow callous to someone saying to me, “you know, boy, your story–it changed my life.” To me that’s a greater reward than a million dollars. To me that’s the highest calling I could have, just to inspire others to be the best them that they can be. I’ll never get immune to it, never get callous to it, never take it for granted.

I have some of the greatest fans, you know if you want to call them that, on earth. They’re so supportive and the one thing that they have taught me is that inspiration is a two-way street. I mean, so many people come up to me and say that I inspire them, but then I’ll hear their stories about overcoming great loss, or dealing with difficulties in their lives, and I just think that they inspire me just as equally, so it’s really a reciprocal relationship, you know? Inspiration is a two-way street.
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So, that’s it, folks! Dean was amazingly friendly, energetic, and inspirational! After talking with him I felt like I was ready to go out and accomplish something major! If only my foot would cooperate with me:(. More on that soon…

17 Responses to Want More Dean? + Giveaway Winner!!

I’m sorry:(. I really do wish I could give everyone a copy! You can buy them for $15 on Amazon, so I say go for it:). I am going to! I ready it online, but I want the hard copy. For some reason, it’s just not the same not having it.